Ukraine Candle used after Hurricane Ian leads Door County Candle Co. to new fundraiser
STURGEON BAY - The new fundraiser launched last week by Door County Candle Co. is more than just another fundraiser. It's a story of how one special candle connects war-torn Ukraine to hurricane-torn Florida.
The Sturgeon Bay-based candle maker is continuing to forge ahead with the fundraising effort that put it into the national news earlier this year — sales of specially made Ukraine Candles, half blue and half yellow like the colors of that war-torn country's flag, with profits from the sales going to the emergency response fund of Razom for Ukraine (Razom is Ukrainian for "together"), a nonprofit organization working to provide humanitarian aid and help create opportunities there.
That candle raised way more funds than the $5,000 or so that company owner, and second-generation Ukranian, Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani hoped to raise for the relief effort. Since launching the fundraiser Feb. 24, Ukraine Candle sales had generated $800,000 for Razom, with buyers from across the country and around the world.
Four of the Ukraine Candles were bought by Christine Salmon, who also was one of the about 25 volunteers who contributed their time to help Trapani and her staff of five make and ship the roughly 80,000 candles that have been sold so far for the fundraiser. Salmon and her husband, Phil, live in Punta Gorda, Florida, but she lived in Egg Harbor for about 30 years and was visiting Door County this July when she decided to spend two days helping Trapani, who she's known for some time.
The Salmons were back home in Punta Gorda when Hurricane Ian slammed into the Gulf Coast city with Category 4 force Sept. 28. They survived, but their double-wide home was extensively damaged. (Ironically, Salmon told the Advocate the Category F3 tornado that blasted Egg Harbor in 1998 ripped through her backyard.)
Salmon didn't have any electricity or running water for 10 days, but she used one of the Ukraine Candles she bought as her primary source of light at night during that time. She also had given one of the candles to her mother, who lives in a condo in the Tampa area, and her mother also used it for light when she was out of power.
Salmon said after a few days, she was struck by the connection that the candle created to help one disastrous situation was being used to bring comfort during another disaster.
"I lit that candle every night," Salmon said, "but on the third or fourth night, I looked at it and thought how crazy it is that Christiana made this candle for Ukraine, yet it's giving me so much comfort here."
Six days after Ian struck, Oct. 4, Salmon sent a Facebook message to Trapani with a photo of a lit Ukraine Candle. She wrote that she'd been without power or running water those six days and was using the candle for light during that time, closing her message with, "I’ll bet you didn’t realize just how much you’d be lighting up the world with your Razom good cause!"
Trapani posted the message on the company Facebook page, and she said she was moved by what the candle meant to Salmon. Not only that, she said other friends and family have homes in Florida.
"I read it and got teary-eyed and emotional," Trapani said. "I was touched. Candles can be a luxury item, but they can be so much more. They can provide light and warmth.
"I thought, what can I do to help?"
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The answer came within 20 minutes, when Trapani decided to donate the profits from another candle variety to Hurricane Ian relief efforts. It's the 16-ounce size of the appropriately named Beachside, a blue candle the company first developed and made this summer which its website says "smells like a day at the beach with notes of sunscreen and coconut."
The new fundraiser opened Oct. 4 and raised about $4,000 within its first two days, Trapani said. That pace is fast enough that the company again is ramping up its production to meet hoped-for demand for the Beachside candles, with Trapani saying the fundraiser will run though October. She hopes it raises at least $10,000.
And Trapani believes it won't be the last major fundraiser run through Door County Candle Co. The company hadn't been involved in a major fundraiser before this year, taking part in small ones for schools, but circumstances this year have seen them launch two in a row within a span of seven and a half months. Plus, Trapani said she and the Razom organization are discussing a new project that could be announced in November.
Which is perfectly fine with her.
"I always liked the idea that we could help, that we could have our candles raise money," Trapani said. "It's kind of nice. I love that our candles are so much more than just a candle."
FYI
Cost of the 16-ounce Beachside candle for Hurricane Ian relief is $25.95. All profits go to the American Red Cross for its relief efforts. To order or for more information, visit the Door County Candle store, 5789 State 42, Sturgeon Bay; call 920-746-2125; or visit doorcountycandle.com or the "Door County Candle Company" Facebook page.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Ukraine Candle use spurs Door County Candle Hurricane Ian fundraiser
